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MWC IoT news roundup: day three

February 24, 201622:31Stuart Corner

Jasper announced partnerships with Post Luxembourg and Telular, Sigfox got a gong for mobile IoT innovation, Wedge Networks offered security as a service for IoT, and Ooredoo expanded its M2M offerings.

Sigfox wins best mobile IoT innovation award

Sigfox has won the award for the ‘Best Mobile Innovation for Internet of Things’ at Mobile World Congress.

Sigfox says the award is based on: “Genuine innovation in terms of functionality; real-world applicability (ie demonstration of fulfilling a valuable need); viability of business model and market potential; clever use of mobile network connectivity; usability and value; ease of use and benefits; evidence of market acceptance.

Sigfox claims to have “created the category of connectivity called low power wide area (LPWA) networks.” Its technology is deployed or being rolled out in 14 countries — including Australia and New Zealand — and it says there are over seven million devices in its network.

Ooredoo expands M2M offerings

Ooredoo has expanded its managed connectivity solution, IoT Connect, developed in partnership with Ericsson and based on its Device Connection Platform (DCP). Managed Connectivity has already been made available in Indonesia, Tunisia and Kuwait, where it “provides customers with full control of their IoT/M2M connectivity, thanks to a cloud-based M2M platform,” according to Ooredoo.

Ooredoo has also upgraded its IoT Connect to offer seamless M2M connectivity to customers who want to operate in North Africa, Middle East and/or South East Asia.

Ooredoo is also offering end-to-end vertical solutions such as fleet management in a range of major markets, and says it has seen significant success in Indonesia, where its M2M Vehicle Telematics solution has seen strong take-up.

Group CEO, Sheikh Saud bin Nasser Al Thani, said: “We have a clear roadmap for the development of IoT services, including ongoing investment in delivering a global, cloud-based solution for our customers, and we have a series of exciting new solutions in development with our global network of partners.”

Telular teams with Jasper for commercial telematics

Telular Corporation, a provider of IoT technology for commercial telematics and security, and global IoT service platform operator Jasper have announced a partnership to deliver IoT services to the commercial telematics and security markets.

They will integrate the Jasper Control Centre IoT service platform with Telular’s SkyBitz and Telguard products “to enable telematics providers and security dealers to increase productivity, reduce cost and deliver new revenue-generating services to their customers worldwide.”

Telular’s SkyBitz division provides IoT for enterprise fleets, local fleets, tank monitoring and petroleum logistics. Telular’s Telguard division provides a portfolio of communication solutions, as well as white labelled products and channel support, to partners. Current partners include Videofied for its video verification solution and Elk, DSC and 2GIG for cellular communicators and interactive services.

Jasper currently partners with 27 mobile operator groups, representing more than 100 mobile operator networks worldwide. It offers “a cloud-based IoT platform to enable companies of all sizes to rapidly and cost-effectively launch, manage and monetize IoT services on a global scale.”

Jasper and POST Luxembourg launch European IoT services

Luxembourg’s national telecommunications services operator, Post Luxembourg is using Jasper’s IoT platform to enable enterprises to launch, manage and monetise IoT service businesses. Enterprises looking to deliver IoT/M2M services outside of Luxembourg will be able to take advantage of Jasper Control Centre through Teralink Solutions, the international business unit of Post, which launched last year.

Post Luxembourg says that, by partnering with Jasper, it can provide its customers with “a highly scalable IoT platform that not only enables them to introduce new IoT services in Europe, but also gives them the flexibility to easily expand their services globally. …With Jasper’s platform, Post now offers a turnkey managed connectivity solution for customers in any vertical industry, which can be easily configured for the unique needs of their specific business models.”

Wedge Networks offers security-as-a-service for IoT

Security company, Wedge Networks has announced a family of new security-as-a-service packages, to provide security and compliance enforcement services for IoT in enterprise networks. The new packages are available for implementation using Wedge Cloud Network Defense, which can be deployed by enterprises with their own data centre cloud, or by communications service providers to offer security-as-a-service to their business customers.

Wedge says its IoT security and compliance enforcement packages “provide IoT optimised security and compliance services with enforcement at the cloud layer to consistently apply policies to all network connected devices, both physical and virtual” Packages are available to address different vertical markets

IoT Connect comprises hardware, a management platform, and global connectivity through KnowRoaming’s own network. The hardware is available as a stand-alone or expandable router or can be integrated into devices. The management platform can be customised as an app or dashboard.

Next and Arrow offer fingerprint recognition for IoT

Norwegian fingerprint sensor developer, Next Biometrics and global electronics distributor Arrow Electronics announced plans to target the IoT market with a new turnkey biometric solution for Windows 10. It consists of Arrow Electronics’ community board, DragonBoard 410c, based on the Qualcomm SnapDragon 410 processor, and Next Biometrics’ turnkey biometrics security module, NB-1411-S.

According to Next, it allows system designers to quickly and efficiently add a user friendly, high performance fingerprint-based authentication feature to IoT devices. It is enabled by the patented Next Active Thermal sensing principle. Next says a wide range of product formats including notebooks & PCs, tablets, smartphones, door locks, time registration systems, payment terminals, flash drives, USB tokens, key fobs and many more are targeted.